The Streltsy army, the creation of which dates back to 1550, originally consisted of three thousand people. All of them were consolidated into separate "orders" of 500 each and constituted the personal guards of Ivan the Terrible.
History of Creation
The ancient Slavic word "sagittarius" denoted an archer, who was the main component of medieval troops. Later in Russia they began to call representatives of the first regular army that way. The Streltsy army replaced the pishchalnik militias. Boyar children commanded "orders".
Streltsy were stationed in a suburban settlement. They were given a salary of 4 rubles a year. Gradually, the Streltsy army began to form a permanent Moscow garrison.
First baptism of fire as a regular army
Immediately after their appearance, the archery army received a baptism of fire. Gathering warriors in 1552 to capture Kazan, Ivan IVincluded this newly organized unit in the regular army. In the history of the siege and the subsequent assault on this city, the archery army played an important role. It was it that largely contributed to the success of the campaign to conquer the Kazan Khanate.
Tsar Ivan IV, having appreciated his archers, began to rapidly increase their number. And already in the 60s of the 16th century there were about 8 thousand of them. And by the end of the 80s, already during the reign of the heir to Ivan IV, Fyodor Ioannovich, there were more than 12 thousand. At the same time, more than half - 7,000 streltsy - permanently lived in Moscow, and the rest - in other cities, where they carried out mainly garrison or police service.
What is a streltsy army
2000 Moscow archers were the so-called "stirrups", actually dragoons or mounted infantry. It was she who became an important part of the Moscow rati of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Almost none of the serious campaigns, including the campaign during the years of the Livonian War, and the repulse of the raid on Moscow by the Crimean Tatars, could do without them.
However, for all its significance, this unit should not be overestimated. The Streltsy army was created to oust or even replace the local cavalry. However, this did not happen. Despite the fact that such an army was a rather formidable force. However, armed with slow-firing squeakers (an 8 kg matchlock gun, 22 mm caliber and a range of up to 200 m), the archers had little chance of success. They needed a cover becausewhich they could hit the enemy without risking being killed at the moment of reloading their antediluvian weapons.
Failures
In Europe, where squeaks were also in service, pikemen became such a cover for shooters, but in the Russian steppe they were useless. Therefore, the archery army for this purpose used the natural folds of the terrain, forests and groves. Hiding behind them, one could count on successfully repulsing enemy attacks. This happened, for example, in 1555 in the battle of Fate, where the archery army, having been defeated by the Krymchaks, hid in the oak forest and defended until the evening, until the khan, frightened by the arrival of fresh Russian forces, retreated.
What is the difference between the archery army and the regular army
The "orders" acted much more successfully during defenses and sieges of fortresses. After all, they had time to arrange the necessary protective structures - tours, trenches or tyn. Therefore, historians are sure that, when creating the corps of archers, Ivan the Terrible and his advisers tried to successfully adapt the European experience in creating regular infantry to Russian realities. They did not blindly copy "overseas" military establishments, arming two highly specialized types of infantry, but limited themselves to only one, but the most effective specifically in the conditions of Russia.
The formation of the Streltsy troops can be called the answer of Russian military thought to the then increasing effectiveness of handguns. Itwas supposed to act as an addition to the local cavalry, which was armed mainly with throwing and edged weapons. However, the streltsy army could not yet take the dominant place in the Russian regular army. For this, not only weapons and tactics had to become different, but also the enemy. And until this happened, such an army remained important and necessary, albeit a minor component of the Russian army of the 16th century.
This was evidenced by the proportion of archers in it. By the end of the sixteenth century, according to various estimates, the number of soldiers in the Russian army ranged from 75 to 110 thousand people. Whereas the archery army numbered about 12,000 soldiers, while not everyone was able to participate in long-distance campaigns or campaigns. But nevertheless, the main step towards creating a new type of army in Russia has already been taken.
Strelets army of Peter
Peter's regular army, organized according to the German model, was much more effective. Soldiers were paid salaries for their service. At the same time, service was obligatory for the nobility. Recruitment was announced for ordinary people.
In the Streltsy army, soldiers were given land allotments for their service. Most of them lived with their families in the Streletskaya Sloboda in a separate village. Therefore, it was impossible to conduct military operations during sowing or harvesting: the archers refused.
The regiments of the "new system" created by Ivan the Terrible and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich constitute the most important stages in the history of the creation of a regular army. But while these troopscoexisted in parallel, they could not represent a single army. Warriors were not constantly in military service. Moreover, even the regiments of the "new system" after the end of hostilities had to be disbanded and then recruited again, in essence, calling on untrained peasants.
A sad end
After the Azov campaign, Emperor Peter I was convinced that the army he inherited was absolutely unsuitable for the complex military and political tasks that he set for himself. Therefore, the most important component of the reforms of that time was a radical reorganization of the entire military structure in the state. And above all, it was the creation of a regular army, which was based on a recruiting system and was completely different from the principle of the formation of a streltsy army.
But nevertheless, the pishchalniks of Vasily III and the archers of Ivan IV paved a direct road to the soldiers' regiments of the sovereigns Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich. And already from them - directly to the Petrovsky fuselers.
Immediately after the rebellion of 1699, Peter the Great ordered to disperse the streltsy army, leaving some of it to serve on the outskirts of Russia.
